Motto

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'

Marcus Tullius Cicero

NewsLetter

Master Gardeners of Summit CountyDec 2010/Jan2011 Newsletter

Nancy Germano, Editor: nancy@digginwithnancy.com"Cultivating people, plants and community"The Master Gardeners of Summit County teach and assist the community using environmentally sound, research-based horticultural practices and promote gardening to enhance our community and ourselves.

President’s Corner, Mindy Costigan-McCartney mindy@neo.rr.com

At Harvest Fest on October 28th our 2009 class was inducted into our organization. We welcome the 28 newly certified Summit County Master Gardener Volunteers and thank them for the many contributions they have already made to our organization. Keep up the great work! Our numbers are now at about 150 active members. This year 90 Master Gardeners and 30 guests attended Harvest Fest. At Harvest Fest, along with the new class being certified, awards were given. The Master Gardener of the Year was awarded to our past president Jean Kindry. This award was well deserved by Jean, not only has she served as Board President for 2 years, Jean also co-chairs the Community Clubhouse Program and she has chaired the Saturday Gardening Series. The Carol Easter Life Long Learner was awarded to Lori Nelson and the President’s Award was given to Sam Morlan. Congratulations to these Master Gardener Volunteers.

On November 2 the outgoing board sat down with the incoming board members. The outgoing board took that time to explain the duties of the different officer positions. We discussed other obligations of being a board member. At the end of that meeting the 2010-2011 Board of Directors chose me to be the new president of the Summit County Master Gardeners Board of Directors. I am honored by that show of confidence. I accept this challenge knowing there is a strong board sitting with me. We all are looking forward to a productive year.

On November 16 the 2010-2011 board held its board retreat meeting. At that time we voted to hire a part time Master Gardener Coordinator. It will be a part time/contracted position for 10 hours a week. This will be a different position from that of Administrative Assistant held by Cheryl Manson. This new MG Coordinator will communicate and work closely with Denise regarding many aspects of MG business. The membership will take on the responsibilities of dues & hours, updating and printing the directory, updating contact information, member communications, hotline, publicity, wiggio coordinator, and recruitment chairman. Various board members and MGVs are filling these various roles from the general membership.One of our goals this year is to improve communications. We are trying to adopt a platform to communicate effectively with everyone on a timely basis, yet not have to print and mail everything. Mailing is both time consuming and expensive. Therefore, we would like to make Wiggio work, and work well for everyone. The difficulty arises with many different brands of computers; all configured differently, different operating systems, and different end user experiences. We are aware that some members have not had as much success as others; we are trying very hard to resolve those issues. Please be on the lookout via email and Wiggio for notice about a couple of training classes on the workings of Wiggio. We hope you will be able to attend a training session.

Some of our goals for this year include designing and implementing a website, creating a better yearly calendar, review of all of our programming – committees and outreach with respect to mission and execution, review and update if necessary the MG Code of Regulations. I expect these goals will be refined as our year goes on. Another change from last year is that the board has scheduled monthly board meetings. Meetings will be at 9:30 am on the third Thursday of the month. For now we have them scheduled in conference at the extension office. I hope you can join us at one.

Notes from Denise, ellsworth.2@osu.eduWe just learned that we will receive level funding in 2011 from the Summit County Council – great news! Hopefully this will eliminate the need for further program cuts in the coming year.Volunteer recognition, 2010: Help us to congratulate fellow Master Gardener Volunteers who were recognized at Harvest Fest!

President’s Award: This award is presented to one outstanding volunteer not on the board of directors .2010 recipient: Sam MorlanSam has worked tirelessly on the youth gardening project at the Akron Zoo and Salvation Army. Thanks, Sam, for your hard work!Carol Easter Life Long Learner Award: This award recognizes one member who enthusiastically pursues horticultural knowledge. The award is named after long-time member Carol Easter, who exemplified this quest for learning.2010 recipient: Lori NelsonLori headed the diagnostic team in 2010, completed the Backyard and Local Foods MG specialization, and logged 99 continuing education hours this year. Way to go, Lori!Summit County Master Gardener of the Year: This award recognizes one member who embodies the best qualities of a volunteer: selfless dedication, enthusiasm, and service.2010 Master Gardener of the Year: Jean KindryAs two time board president, Jean has clearly demonstrated her leadership abilities as well as a commitment to the mission of the Master Gardener program. She has given over 600 volunteer hours since joining the Master Gardeners in 2006, working with many committees including youth gardening, Tour of Gardens, Ability at work, hotline, the Akron tree inventory and the newsletter. Jean has chaired the Saturday Gardening Series and TBI Community clubhouse. Thanks, Jean, for all you’ve done for the Master Gardeners!

Caring Corner News, Mary June Startsstarts@roadrunner.comAs a new Board member, I am assuming the responsibilities of the Master Gardeners Caring Corner. Please contact me by e-mail if you are aware of anyone that might need a card or note. Master Gardeners are all “family” and we truly care about one another. The following cards were sent in November:Sherry Beam, following surgeryCarolyn Fulton, on the loss of her sisterLaHoma Clearwater, continued encouragement

Community Clubhouse for Traumatic Brain Injury – Chairs Pat Munka1downtown@sbcglobal.net and Jean Kindry jkindry@sbcglobal.netWe wrapped the gardening season up in grand style at Becker’s Herb Farm with the harvest of the sweet potatoes we had planted on a trellis. The four small seed potatoes yielded an astounding 24 pounds of potatoes!Among other activities the past several months the members collected and prepared herbs which they then turned into gift sets of dried herbs packets for seasoning dips and small bottles of herb flavored vinegar. Apple season we picked apples, made applesauce and wonton wrapper apple snacks, and carved apples to make dried apple face people.As one clubhouse members said recently “I have done more interesting things than I have ever dreamed I would be doing.” Enthusiasm remains high among all the participants, members and MGs alike. We meet once a month in the winter months and hope to resume our regular gardening schedule in the spring.

Salvation Army/Zoo Project, Sam Morlan samandlora@wadsnet.comHello everyone. I wish you all a very happy holiday season which will soon be here!The past season at the zoo went well for the most part. I want to thank all of those who helped make it work so well. I am not sure what is going to happen at the Learning Zone at the Salvation Army sight if I don’t get more volunteers. I know it is a burden with getting all of the clearances, but with a new Director, that might change.I plan on having a meeting sometime in January with anyone interested in working with us at the zoo next summer. I will soon be talking with the zoo to see if we can remodel the garden area at Frontier Land. It is possible they may have more garden space available for us nearby.I would really like to get more teachers involved to ease the burden on some of the regulars. It is a long and demanding project, but a few people who would commit to just a week would help a lot. I also need some new ideas to change up the program a bit since many of the children have been there/done that. Thanks and keep the zoo in mind! If you have any questions, -please call me, Sam.

MMITG—Sandy Barstow, dbarstow@neo.rr.comPrograms scheduled for the New Year:January 26th. Edible Landscaping presented by Rudy Moyer – M.G. Stark CountyFebruary 23rd. Raised Garden Beds presented by Jerry Salisbury – M.G. Summit CountyAll programs are open to the public and are held at the Nature Realm starting at 7:00 p.m. If you need further info, please call or email me. Thanks so much, Sandy

Tour of Gardens, Donna Spino dmspino@yahoo.comThe 2011 TOG is on its way. Next year’s theme is “Hidden Jewels”. Thank you to Kathy Stutzman, Margie Garrand, and Marilyn Fellenstein for stepping up to take on needed chair positions. Our Garden Finding Committee, Melanie Andrew and Rita Chambers have found us six outstanding gardens for next year’s tour. We are still in need of a location for the Posie Shoppe. The tour will be in south western Summit County. We are in need of a MG to host the Posie Shoppe located in Copley Twp., Norton, Barberton, New Franklin, Firestone Park, or any point in between these areas. We do have our six gardens for the tour, so if you feel that you’re not quite “tour worthy”, but may have an accessible location for the Posie Shoppe, please do not hesitate to contact me. The Posie Shoppe can be a stop for tour goers on their way to the next garden. We are also looking for a Patron Party location, if you know of a garden that may fulfill this need; please contact Melanie, Rita, or myself.For all of you that would like to volunteer for next year’s tour, please contact Toni Bouhassin or Lori Nelson who will be handling all the volunteer assignments for the weekend of the tour. The tour for 2011 will be Saturday June 25th, so save that date for the Tour of Gardens for Summit County Master Gardeners! Our next meeting will be December 7th at the Norton library, 3930 S. Cleveland-Massillon Rd., at 5:30 P.M.

Design & Beyond 2011,Sherry Beam summitmgsbeam@yahoo.comThe 2011 Design & Beyond symposium will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2011 at Zwisler Hall - St. Sebastian’s Church, 348 Elmdale Ave, Akron, OH 44320 from 8:30 am until 2:30 pm. Cost for the day, including continental breakfast, lunch and materials is $35 for all participants, and is open to the public.Presenters will be:Marvin Duren, of Lebanon, Ohio is the owner of Marvin’s Organic Gardens. After learning firsthand the effects of Agent Orange and other chemicals while serving in combat in Vietnam with the US Army Rangers, he converted to all organic methods in 1978 believing our environment is too important to waste. After 27 years of owning and operating 20 Waffle Houses, in 1999 he devoted himself to operating Marvin’s Organic Gardens, and sharing organic gardening techniques. Organic gardening creates a healthy environment and causes little to no soil and water pollution. Marvin’s Organic Gardens earned its official USDA organic certification in 2003. This certification guarantees the entire property follows strict, organic growing methods, and never uses synthetics or chemicals. A section of land was set aside to grow extra produce to give back to the community. The Giving Garden project based on WWII Victory Gardens is a simple yet profound way to help others. This summer Marvin won a contract from the world’s largest retailer (Wal-Mart) to compost food waste from as many as 160 of its stores in OhioMarv will be presenting “Organic Gardening and Caring for Your Yard”.Susan James, of Bellville, Ohio is the Operations Coordinator at the Mohican Schools in the Out-of-Doors, Inc. in Butler, Ohio. She is the facilitator of Project WILD, Aquatic WILD, Flying WILD, Wonders of the Wetlands, Project Learning Tree, and Healthy Water, Healthy People. Susan is acertified instructor for Square Foot Gardening and uses this method at both her home and school.Square Foot Gardening is a raised-bed method of gardening that requires only 20% of the space of a conventional garden, uses 10% of the water, and 5% of the seeds, and requires 2% of the work needed in a conventional garden. The square foot gardens at the Mohican School are part of the curriculum where students are taught the basics of plants as part the “Seeds on Your Plate” class.Susan recently presented Square Foot Gardening at the 2010 Conference of the North America Association for Environmental Education in Buffalo, NY.Susan will be presenting “Square Foot Gardening Made Simple”Shawn Belt, of Cleveland, Ohio is the Farm Manager for the Cleveland Botanical Garden’s Green Corps program. Green Corps is a high school work-study urban agriculture program that since 1996 has employed students to work and learn at urban farms throughout Cleveland. Dealing with a lot different soil types, the Green Corps utilizes lasagna-style bed preparation to solve issues such as lack of organic matter and nutrients, and the presence of heavy metals. Lasagna gardening is a no-dig, no-till organic gardening method that results in rich, fluffy soil with very little work. Also known as “sheet composting,” lasagna gardening is great for the environment, with using our yard and kitchen waste. Mother Nature is the original lasagna gardener. In nature, debris drops to the forest floor, and without any help from man, creates layers of dark, rich humus.Shawn will present “Lasagna Gardening – Creating Nutritious, Safe Growing Areas”Registration must be postmarked on or before January 5, 2011Late registration will be accepted until January 13, 2011 at the fee of $45.Registrations are transferable. No refunds after December 29, 2010To receive a registration form: E-mail: Sherry Beam at: summitmgsnbeam@yahoo.com, or: mail a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Sherry Beam, 2633 Hudson-Aurora Rd., Hudson, Ohio 44236-2325If you have any questions, please contact, Sherry Beam, facilitator – 330-342-0969Please see the attached flier at the end of the newsletter.On another note… Jean KindryAs a foodie and avid cookbook reader like many of you I have far too many recipes to ever get around to trying them all. New techniques, international cuisines and/or new ways of using common ingredients are all intriguing. However, I was charmed by Molly Wisenberg’s cooking blog book A Homemade Life and had to make this recipe.For the adventuresome here is a chutney (by definition a sweet and spicy relish made from fruit, spices, sugar and vinegar) “to try with turkey, sweet potato soup or dolloped onto toast smeared with goat cheese.” Yum! It also makes a good hostess gift for the holidays.CRANBERRY CHUTNEY WITH CRYSTALLIZED GINGER AND DRIED CHERRIES24 ounces apricot preserves¾ cup raspberry vinegar, or ¾ cup white vinegar plus 1 ½ teaspoons raspberry preserves or jellyPinch salt¼ teaspoons ground cloves¼ cup Grand Marnier2 (12-ounce) bags fresh cranberries, picked over½ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger1 ¼ dried tart cherriesIn a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the apricot preserves, raspberry vinegar or vinegar and raspberry preserves), salt, cloves, and Grand Marnier. Stir to mix, and place over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until it has thickened slightly. It will bubble aggressively, and you should stir regularly to keep it from scorching.Reduce the heat to medium, add the cranberries, and cook until they are soft but not popped. When one or two pop, that is a good indicator that most are getting soft. Add the ginger and cherries, stir well, and remove from the heat.Cool completely before serving. The chutney will thicken considerably as it cools.NOTE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep almost indefinitely. Yield 5-7 cups.Note from the Editor: Nancy nancy@digginwithnancy.comIf at any time you wish to include a little note, picture, book review, saying, etc., please don’t hesitate to submit something to me. It’s always fun to be able to include something “special” that you think others might enjoy!MG CalendarDecember7—Tour of Gardens mtg.16 – Board of Directors MTG 9:30 @SC Extension OfficeJanuary 20115—Registration due for Design and Beyond22—Design and Beyond26—MMITG @ 7:00 P.M.February23—MMITG @ 7:00 P.M.Summit County Master Gardener 2010-2011 Board of DirectorsPresident – Mindy Costigan-McCartneymindy@neo.rr.com 330-869-8679Vice President – Joan Ganglejoangangle@nls.net 330-665-4166Secretary – Karen Edgingtonkedgin@aol.com 330-836-1836Treasurer – Peggy Cartwrightmzcreative@yahoo.com 330-929-3204Jerry Salisburyjs@mountainpride.com 330-784-1960Sandy Barstowdbarstow@neo.rr.com 330-622-5101Cheryl Mansoncheryl.manson@gmail.com 330-923-7856Mary June Startsstarts@roadrunner.com 330-869-5502Vince Matlockvfmatlock@att.net 330-896-3661Cheryl Urbancu16340@sbcglobal.net 330-882-4166Pat Munka1downtown@sbcglobal.net 330-645-0448Committee ChairsTour of Gardens: Donna Spino, chair & Kathy Stutzman, co-chairDesign and Beyond: Sherry Beam D&B planned for January 22, 2011Continuing Education: Chair needed; committee in place, events being plannedSaturday Gardening Series: Cheryl Urban & Pat Munka; co-chairsMeet me in the Garden: Sandy BarstowGrants Committee: Vince MatlockPublicity: Pat SarikelleHarvest Fest: Cheryl UrbanPlant Swap: Joan GangleSpeakers’ Bureau: Deidre BetancourtRegina Garden Club: Bill Orosz; chair, Mary Lore; co-chairCommunity Clubhouse/TBI: Jean Kindry & Pat Munka; co-chairsYouth Gardening/Zoo: Sam Morlan; Chair Lora Avens; co-chairStan Hywet Garden Camp: Cheryl Urban & Judy Hirschman; co-chairsFarmers’ Markets: Carolyn Scott; chairPhenology-Seiberling: Carolyn Dunlavy; chairPhenology-Adell Durbin: Chair neededAdditional Responsibilities:Wiggio Administrator: Jerry SalisburyMembership Chair: Cheryl MansonRecruiting Assistant: Mary June StartsMember Communications: Cheryl MansonHotline: Dave MayerAssets Coordinator: Peggy Cartwright & Jerry SalisburyVendor Relations: Joan Gangle & Peggy CartwrightCaring Corner: Mary June Starts“Organic Gardening and Caring for Your Yard” (Marvin Duren) “Square Foot Gardening Made Simple” (Susan James) “Lasagna Gardening – Creating Nutritious, Safe Growing Areas” (Shawn Belt) Raffle & Door Prizes, Book Sales…and more! 5 MG CE’s The Master Gardeners of Summit County (501 c3 nonprofit org.) are affiliated with OSU Extension of Summit County. Ohio State University Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or veteran status. This statement is in accordance with United States Civil Rights Laws and the USDA. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Registration ~ Design & Beyond 2011 Please print: Name: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________________________________________________ Telephone: ______________________________ E-mail:______________________________________________ Check one below: All participants~~ $35.00 Late Registration (afterJanuary 5th) ~~ $45.00 Smoked Turkey & Swiss in a Spinach Wrap (Symposium fee includes seminar materials, continental breakfast and lunch) Roast Beef & Cheddar with Carmelized Onion and Red Peppers in a White Wrap Marinated Eggplant, Squash, with Spinach and Smoked Mozzarella in a Tomato Wrap Lunches served with mini fruit kabob and beverage Registration deadline—must be postmarked by January 5, 2011 Make checks payable to: Master Gardeners of Summit County Mail to: D&B 2011—Joyce Powell, Registrar 1969 Victoria Street Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221 Summit County Master Gardeners Cordially invite you to Design